Putin's Controversial Comments on Zelensky Spark Backlash.

Russian President Vladimir Putin called Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky a "disgrace" to Jewish people at an economic forum in St. Petersburg. Putin also claimed that Ukraine's counteroffensive would fail and that Russia had sent nuclear arms to its ally Belarus. The weapons were meant as deterrence to "those who are thinking of inflicting a strategic defeat on Russia." Belarusian troops began training on nuclear-capable Russian missile systems in April.